C e l e b r a t i n g D u d l e y THE WORLD WINDOWS TO OF ...

1 UNITED CHURCHOF CLINTON SEPTEMBER 2018 WINDOWS TOTHE WORLD BY PASTOR LEE ATHERTON I am writing to you today from my home officewhere the wall in front of me is mostly to the WORLD ! I am hearing the soundsof lawns being mowed, dogs barking, childrenplaying; I m seeing the cloudy sky spattered withglimpses of blue that are far too few for my liking. I know the rain will be here soon. I m ever sothankful for the chill in the air a blessed relieffrom those days in the 90s with humidity so thick Ifelt I was trudging through muck! I realizesummer is winding down. I ve been reflecting on my summer and what itmeans to Grab Some R s! I often think ofsummer as a time to Rest, Relax, and Rejuvenate. I remember a time when my children were little. Iwas a single mom working full time and trying tohang on to the joy in life.

2 It was a crazy and hectictime. My mentor invited me for a day-long hike inthe woods. My heart and soul jumped at theopportunity; but I had so much to do! He keptpushing and I finally said, Ok I ll go! I got anearful from others. How could you be soselfish!? Why would you do that withoutbringing the kids that s mean! You expect meto work watching them so you can go off andwaste the day?! But I stuck to my can t begin to tell you what that day meant!! Sure, I carried some guilt after listening to thenaysayers; but when I came back, I wastremendously relaxed, rested from the hurrysickness I was feeling, and rejuvenated to thepoint that I was feeling that joy again. I was muchmore patient with my children, much less harriedat work, and laughter had returned. I vowed totake a day each month to Grab some R s!

3 I know of so many faithful pastors and churchmembers who work tirelessly for their faithdespite their own deteriorating health there isjust so much need and good work to be done thatcarving out time for rest seems selfish andcounter-productive. That is our human thinking but what does the Bible have to say about restand self-care? Much like a well run dry can tquench our thirst; so to can we not care for othersif we don t fill our well with rest, relaxation andrejuvenation The Bible strongly encourages rest and relaxation. Merriam-Webster defines rest as to cease workor movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, orrecover strength. It also defines relaxation as the state of being free from tension and anxiety. God spent 6 pretty busy days creating the heavensand the earth and all that is.

4 And then on the7thday, the Sabbath, God rested. Even Godneeded a chance to catch God s breath. God latercommands us to Honor the Sabbath Day, to keepit holy. In the Gospels we hear Jesus time andagain going away to pray, to rest, to be away fromthe crowds. IN THIS ISSUEGFO Feeds Many! United ChurchMusic MinistryHopes to GrowWe haveADVENTUROUSY outh!Celebrating DudleyGod is serious about rest and relaxation. Rest doesn tcome naturally to us, which is why we are remindedso many times in the Scriptures of the necessity oflaying down our work. When we are overworked weare more vulnerable and sensitive to things aroundus; we become too weary to praise the simple thingsin the WORLD around us; we become angry, frustratedand easily riled. And Rest" applies to our spirits aswell. God longs to refresh our spirits and renew ourstrength.

5 Even Jesus went away to pray and rest; toget away from the crowds; to reconnect with his Abba. This summer I m adding another R Rejoice! Afavorite song of mine says, Rejoice in the Lordalways, again I say rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Again I sayrejoice! I rejoice in those days this summer that Imowed (yep I love mowing!). I rejoice in my weekendaway with my family when the to-do list wasn t rightthere bugging me. I rejoice in the morning cups ofcoffee as I sit in my deck swing with Shadow beggingme to rub his belly again! I rejoice in the little tinyblue flowers I discovered yesterday as I wanderedthrough the garden. And right now I am rejoicing atseeing my neighbor who suffers from many physicalailments able to mow her lawn; and the 102 year oldneighbor who just watered her hanging plant and issitting in her rocking chair outside.

6 Rejoice in thesmall and the big things. So many things I would havemissed if I hadn t taken time to Grab some R s ! How will you get your R s in the weeks and monthsahead?OUR BUDDY BENCH FOR THE COMMUNITYOur red buddy bench, beneath theshade of a tree, is our invitation tothe community to rest awhile. Nowit s time to let our church s friendsand neighbors know they THIRD DAY GARDEN: SUCCESS!The plants in the expanded area ofour Third Day Garden, locatedbeside the growing boxes, havetaken off this year. So too has thecrab grass that sprang up aroundit, another result of rain-soaked,late summer days. Moreimportantly, we have had lots ofpollinators on plants selected toattract butterflies, bees, and Be advised: As the fall seasonprogresses our Third Day Gardenwill be left to change with theseason.

7 Plants will remain as aseed source for birds as othernatural sources of avian fooddiminish. Let the earth put forthvegetation: plants yielding seed .. And it was (Genesis 1)GROWING FOR OTHERS 2018: HARVEST!Throughout July and Augustproduce from our four growingboxes has been harvested anddelivered to the WHEATC ommunity Cupboard in the wet weather hastaken a toll on some of ourvegetables, our harvest has beenreasonable compared toprevious years. Our Growing forOthers flag beside our growingboxes has attractedconsiderable notice. I ve seenseveral passersby stop and takecell phone pictures. OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE EFFORTS - FEED MY SHEEP SPARE CHANGE JARS: THE ITEM APPEALOur Spare Change collectionduring the summer months hasbeen for the ltem Appeal, aregistered nonprofit that assiststhose in need in Clinton andsurrounding communities.

8 Thiscollection will end September PROJECTSSee elsewhere in this newsletteryou ll see the projects our youthare engaged (ONGOING)As the seasons change, we llcontinue to deliver a meal of pizza,salad, and ice cream on the fourthMonday of each month. In the past,we ve had a place setting in theSanctuary on Communion Sunday,the first Sunday of the month, fordonations toward the cost of ourCaf meal, which averages $ month. Your Social JusticeCommittee is embarking on anupdated approach to promotingthis very import project. More tocome on that!SPAGHETTISUPPER A spaghetti supper & raffle willbe held on October 6, 5-6:30 pmin Marquardt Hall sponsored bythe Vitality Team & Servants inFaith. The proceeds of thisevent will support a program"Churches Alive" a program fromOctober through spring of self-discovery, discipline andcommunity involvement.

9 TAKING STOCKAs a church, we've been involvedin several long-standing projects Over the coming months yourSocial Justice Committee will bereviewing some of these todiscern if we should be makingany changes that would betterreflect our values and meet theneeds of project recipients. Moreto come on that! Submitted with Peace and blessings by Gloria Parkinson on behalf of your Social Justice Committee members: Chrissy Dobeck, Heather McNamara, Madeline McTague, Gloria Parkinson, Gloria Popp, and Pastor Lee (exofficio) !Weather permitting, we ll holdworship outdoors on September23rd. Pastor Lee will preach onthe theme of peace. Bring yourblankets, chairs or anything elseto be comfy - just like EasterSunrise (except warmer and lesswindy I hope!).Some churches have a choir; some have a chamber orchestra; some have a praise band.

10 In our church we have somethingrelated to all these approaches to music ministry while also being somewhat different. We call it The Ensemble. What is TheEnsemble and how might you become involved? The Ensemble contributes to our Sunday worship in several ways by leading us when we sing our hymns, by playing at othermoments during worship, and by supporting the idea that spirituality may be expressed through music. An explanation ofhow this works: The instrumental composition of The Ensemble is diverse. Yes, one instrument is the human voice, but thereare other instruments involved from time to time. Within our church family we have folks who play guitars, bell chimes,clarinets, drums, mandolin, and soon ukuleles. I ve also heard whispers of more possibilities! Please don t be shy. All it takes to become a member of The Ensemble is to tell me and to agree to spend some time practicingwith others.